Flying Solo brings multiculturalism to New York Fashion Week

Flying Solo had the distinction of being one of the few physical fashion shows for New York Fashion Week (NYFW) this season. The collective, which is a hub and platform for emerging designers, many of whom are international, has become a prominent space for up-and-comers who buck conventional notions of dress to find an audience here in America and abroad with the support of people who see multiculturalism as the future of fashion.

Nichol Isadora, a Florida-based accessories designer, came with a unisex approach for sunglasses and celebrated the art of collaboration with her namesake line, Nicholisadora. She worked with several of the Flying Solo ready-to-wear designers to create unisex glasses featured on the models during the runway show. Her pieces included leopard prints, bold neon colors, and a range of styles from prescription frames to sunglasses fit for a night at the club (remember the good old days B.C. a.k.a. before COVID-19?)

Flying Solo was one of the few physical shows at New York Fashion Week

Isadora takes a bold and bright approach to fashion, especially right now, because as she said to FashionUnited, “People are looking for hope from the fashion industry. People also want to be able to use fashion to identify themselves and express who they are. Fashion has the power to give people confidence during these trying times.”

Freakbutik, a collection by Russian designer sisters Marina and Milana Vasileva, were inspired by the catastrophe of a year that was 2020, because in times of travesty, great creativity is often born. They aptly titled their latest collection CHAOS. The color palette for the streetwear collection included orange, black, silver, and white, essentially hazard colors.

“2020 was very hard for everybody,” Milana said to FashionUnited. “From fashion shows to the overall fashion business. We remember being on a plane from New York to Helsinki when we first heard about the fires in Australia, then the pandemic in China. We thought about how to create a moodboard to explain all of that, and that’s how we thought about this collection.”

Some designers opted for a see-now-buy-now approach to their fashion collections, including Juliana Heels designer Juliana Brandao Cordova. For her spring/summer collection, the designer opted for bright colors and natural fabrics. Brandao Cordova told FashionUnited that, “I wanted something current that my clients can see on the runway and they can have it right away. They know right where to go at Flying Solo.”

Her current collection marks the brand’s second collection ever, and it also marks her debut at New York Fashion Week. Brandao Cordova shares Isadora’s sentiments that people need fashion right now as a beacon of hope. “We are feeling hope about getting the vaccine. People are looking at clothes and thinking of how and where they can wear them again. When my clients see the collection, they see the energy brought to the marketplace. Fashion can change your entire day from the time you wake up in the morning. The right shoes and clothes can give you the right energy for the day. Fashion is never going to stop. People will always love it.”

What Flying Solo managed to do during these tumultuous times for fashion was to keep the dream alive for a new dawn. While the state of fashion is cautiously optimistic, 2021 is already looking up as brand’s try to engineer a new future with the arrival of the COVID-19 vaccine.

photos: courtesy of Flying Solo/Getty